Remember this Simpson's episode?
Homer: America, take a good look at your beloved candidates. They're
nothing but hideous space reptiles. [unmasks them]
[audience gasps in terror]
Kodos: It's true, we are aliens. But what are you going to do about
it? It's a two-party system; you have to vote for one of us.
[murmurs]
Man1: He's right, this is a two-party system.
Man2: Well, I believe I'll vote for a third-party candidate.
Kang: Go ahead, throw your vote away.
[Kang and Kodos laugh out loud]
-- "Treehouse of Horror VII"
During the 2000 presidential election, progressive Texans could laugh off this age-old mantra with certain knowledge that our governor, George W. Bush, was sure to win the state's electoral college votes and that our third-party votes might be thrown away but so would any votes for Gore. As this presidential election cycle heats up, I'm anxious to see whether we'll actually be faced with a choice this time around.
Let's face it: things in Texas are downright bad and getting worse. The state government is broke and we've turned to cutting funding from programs that provide treatment for people with AIDS, visual impairments, and mental illness, increased our already bottom-heavy tax burden on the state's working class, and declared that the idea of free education "comes from Moscow, from Russia. It comes straight from the pit of hell." And our former governor - who got us into this mess through his obsession with tax-cuts - sits at the head of our nation.
Is there really anything we can do?
I started a "progressive" listserv for people I go to school with a few weeks with a few ideas in mind. First, I wanted a space where I could discuss politics with classmates without persistent accusations from differently minded folks that I was abusing a school institution by promoting my political causes. More importantly, however, I've realized that TWO public spaces are necessary in the world of politics: one for dialogue and dissent, another for collaboration.
I've had about 15 people sign on so far and five or six of us have been batting around ideas. One major topic of discussion: should progressives support the Democratic party in 2004?
I'm skeptical but I'm beginning to believe it's a worthwhile endeavor. I read a very good article by Thom Hartmann today that gave me hope that maybe we really can reclaim the Democratic party and make it our own. After all,
"This lack of political power is a crisis others have faced before. We should learn from their experience. After the crushing defeat of Barry Goldwater in 1964, a similar crisis faced a loose coalition of gun lovers, abortion foes, southern segregationists, Ayn Rand libertarians, proto-Moonies, and those who feared immigration within and communism without would destroy the America they loved. Each of these various groups had tried their own "direct action" tactics, from demonstrations to pamphleteering to organizing to fielding candidates. None had succeeded in gaining mainstream recognition or affecting American political processes... the conservatives decided not to get angry, but to get power. Led by Joseph Coors and a handful of other ultra-rich funders, they decided the only way to seize control of the American political agenda was to infiltrate and take over one of the two national political parties, using their own think tanks like the Coors-funded Heritage Foundation to mold public opinion along the way."
I'm beginning to think that progressives can do the same thing. Just look at the momentum behind grassroots movements like moveon.org and Ariana Huffington's Detroit Project - there's a will out there and it appears that there may even be the dollars to back it. I'm willing to ride things out for the next 18 months and see what happens.
So, who's brave enough to crash a Travis County Democrats meeting with me and start the revolution?
Posted by sarah at May 28, 2003 7:33 PM | TrackBack